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Target Games, £9.95


Deploying your troops at the game's start

Far back in the mists of time Julian Gollop wrote a superb strategy game called Rebelstar Raiders. Published by a small company it remained fairly obscure until Firebird released it on budget as Rebelstar. Now the game has resurfaced as the centrepiece of Gollop's new software - Target Games. Updated and thoroughly redesigned as Laser Squad the obvious question is, has Gollop produced another classic?

First impressions are sadly disappointing due to lack of background detail. The Laser Squad of the title seem to be a freelance rebel sharpshooting team, here involved in three scenarios simulating individual scenarios for one or two players. It's a pity more work wasn't put into characterizing the squad members as this would obviously add to the atmosphere. Another drawback is that some of features described in the manual aren't used by the scenarios included, but are instead promised for expansion kits. In my experience expansion kits are almost invariably exercises in wishful thinking on the part of the software house.

Nevertheless the game seems well equipped for such kits, with the scenarios provided being loaded individually after the main program. The scenarios are The Assassins, Moonbase Assault and Rescue From The Mines. The first scenario is the smallest and shortest, and is the one that most players will begin with. But not necessarily the easiest.

In each scenario the player controls a team of six or so individual units. Each trooper has his own set of characteristics which, although not listed in the rulebook, can be examined once into the game itself. A pool of credits is available to be spent equipping each trooper.

Equipment includes four types of armour, offering varying protection for the front, back and sides at a proportionately greater cost - obviously reducing credit points for weaponry. In practice I found that even level four armour offers scant resistance to the enemy lasers, with troopers almost always perishing after a second hit.

Economizing on armour leaves more money for the far more interesting, and effective task of weapons selection. Included here are a rocket launcher, dagger, grenade, explosive and six different types of gun. The characteristics of each type of weapon are set out in a rulebook table complex enough to be bewildering. In addition to the predictable damage factor, weapons have a different percentage chance of hitting the target at a distance and at close combat, a weight (and therefore an encumbrance value), and a skill factor to determine how well an inexperienced user will handle it. The weapons vary in cost too, in rough proportion to their firepower - but this should by no means be the only consideration when matching weapons with individual. For example someone with a high firing skill could make excellent use of a sniper rifle, whereas a novice is probably better off with a costly heavy laser. The most deadly weapon on the list is the explosive, closely followed by the rocket launcher.

Having suitably kitted out your squad you can the deploy them via some nicely presented, idiot-proof selection screens. Ingame graphics are similarly attractive, complete with building, trees and so on. These are shown in a kind of squashed overhead view 3-D which scrolls a character block at a time. A panel beside this main display identifies everything under the cursor in case there should be any doubt about it. 'Scanner screen - 'potted plant' - comfy chair' - even 'loo'. These items are merely for decoration, and occasionally for blowing up. It would add an arcade adventure element to the game if the player's units could interact with the landscape in some more positive way.

The player can deploy his six(ish) units on a selection of squares specified by the computer. Although a fairly wide area is offered it invariably makes sense to station the men as near to the entrance of the target building as possible.

In the first scenario, The Assassins, this is the private home of a mad scientist,